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Democratization and Military Coups in Africa: Post-1990 Political Conflicts studies the seemingly endless cycle of coups that have occurred in Africa since the "Free Officers Coup" of 1952 in Egypt. Unfortunately, after more than three decades of the "third wave of democratization" that began in the 1990's, military coups remain a firm figure on the African political landscape. Although the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU), have developed and implemented anti-coup norms, they have not deterred coup-makers.
Contributors to this volume analyze the major fault lines in the body politics of African states that have created the conditions for coup-making and offer suggestions for ending the cycle of coups. Using countries such as Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Sudan as case studies, each chapter studies the causes, effects, and evolution of military coups in Africa in order to show that eliminating military coups will require identifying and addressing the root causes of the coup in each affected state.
List of contents
Part I: Background
Introduction: "No Farewell to Arms" in Africa?
George Klay Kieh, Jr. and Kelechi Kalu
Chapter 1: Coups d'etat: Theoretical Issues
Kelechi Kalu
Part II: Case Studies
Chapter 2: Military Coup in Burkina Faso
Daniel Eizenga
Chapter 3: Governance, Democratization and Military Coups in Cote d'Ivoire
Henry Kam Kah
Chapter 4: The Military, the Developmental State and the 2013 Coup in Egypt
Zeyad el Nabolsy
Chapter 5: Post-Third Wave "Praetorianism" in Mauritania
Boubacar N'Diaye
Chapter 6: Post-1990 Military Coups in Sierra Leone
Umar Salman Kamara
Chapter 7: Military Intervention and the 2019 Coup in the Sudan
Bitrus Nuhu Mailabari
Part III: Toward the Prevention of Coups
Chapter 8: The African Union's Anti-Coup Regime
George Klay Kieh, Jr.
Part IV: Lessons and Insights
Conclusion: Toward Caging the Coup "Genie" in Africa
George Klay Kieh, Jr. and Kelechi Kalu
About the author
George Klay Kieh, Jr. is dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs and professor of political science at Texas Southern University, and professor in the Graduate Program in International Relations at the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU), Liberia.
Kelechi A. Kalu is professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside.
Summary
Using countries such as Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Sudan as case studies, this book studies the causes, effects, and evolution of military coups in Africa in order to show that eliminating military coups will require identifying and addressing the root causes of the coup in each affected state.
